Ableton Forum

right, following a post on musicthing I thought I'd resurrect the old multitouch business. While Jeff Hann is building interfaces for the CIA and Apple are busy on phones I thought maybe we should DIY



Here's a DIY touchscreen, slightly similar to ReacTable, but is put into action much more in the way that many users of this forum might use multi-touch. Where reactable was 'too abstract' for many, this illustrates (at least) how the medium may develop to be of real use. At least for the loops and bleeps perverts.


Take a look / listen to the >>> VIDEO <<< via musicthing

These are the people who made that video
http://macrone.de/multitouch/


this is the open source multi-touch library they used
http://www.whitenoiseaudio.com/touchlib/

this is how they built their table
http://dundee.cs.queensu.ca/wiki/index. ... tive_Table


Oh and they are Berlin. Which just tops it off I think.

That seems pretty cool.

that seems like a great winter project.

About how much does it cost?

Wow, fascinating! Thanks for posting that! I have musicthing set as my home page on Safari, but I use Safari so seldom that I had no idea about this.

Reminds me of stuff I've been seeing at SIGGRAPH since 1999 [first year I went to one]. Ever see those floor-to-ceiling-projected games kids can play, like football [soccer]? A local shopping center here has one. Looks like quite similar technollogy.

Regarding Microsoft's 'Surface', it's exciting but ...

With a 30-inch screen, Surface will initially sell for between $5,000 and $10,000 (£2,525-£5,050).

That's a bit expensive for me. I'm sure the price will drop in a few years at which point I will be (literally) all over it.

The DIY option would be cheaper, the things you need are
1: a projector
2: a computer
3: a camera with a WDM driver
4: some infra red lighting (so it's out of the spectral range of the lightshow)
5: the table

I guess cost depends to a large degree on whether you have a few items already. Fortunately I have access to a projector. The one they use costs about £650 ($1200)

the camera they use is this one
http://www.ptgrey.com/products/dragonfly/

basically an OEM webcam / spycam device like I might buy from Maplin (UK)

but why not get an all in one solution, camera and IR lights all in one.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... A&doy=30m5
for £25.
Actually i'm not sure that one would work, the camera needs a WDM driver (IE like a webcam) . I think that just outputs an av signal.

I'm guessing that the total (DIY) cost including the table would be £800 to £1000, but as the major cost is the projector if you already have one, then that would drop.

I see in the musicthing comments that the sequencer they are using is written in Proce55ing and is called LoopArena
http://www.sport4minus.de/loopArena/index.html

Regarding the multi-touch software. There is a (tiny) chance that Apple may announce that this would be a feature of leopard.
A fully integrated driver for multitouch devices. For example the iphone.
Or new screens. Or the infamous apple tablet..
We'll know in less then 2 weeks.

This DIY stuff looks neat. But I actually want to spend my time on the interface I work with.
I'm waiting for Apple, Cycling, Ableton and Jazzmutant to announce their plans before I spend any more money on control.
If Ableton/Cycling announce OSC and support for Jazzmutants Dexter...
DIY OSC sounds like more fun to mess with.
Be it on a tablet or physical devices..

I'm actually hoping to be able to one day say "Oh no, M-audio is releasing yet another shitty OSC controller"

Möbelfabrik,

Saturday, the 2nd of June, 2007
Brunnenstrasse 10, 2.HH,

0.00h (open 22.00h)

loopArena/MTC brief performance/openTableSession


lineup:
sa 02.06 /// SATURDAY @ ZMF // 22.oo

___live SCHULZ & SOEHNE - techno junk percussion

___dj Sven Weisemann (Berghain resident)
___dj Steven Young (Styrax records)
___dj Jan Mir vs Piet Batterie (zmf)
___dj Columbus (klangspiel)

___visuals: +++ T._erner

___Video/Soundperformance sport4minus

Tone Deft wrote:About how much does it cost?

between 5 and 50 pounds to make a simple multitouch interface
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQpr3W-Y ... playnext=1

i wish i could find that satire on the Microsoft "big ass table", it was funny. But all of this stuff is cool. I'm wondering if that cheap DIY with webcam can be used to send MIDI in conjunction with Rejoice, Plogue, glovepie or junxion?

ah here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZrr7AZ9nCY

the_antagonist wrote:

Tone Deft wrote:About how much does it cost?

between 5 and 50 pounds to make a simple multitouch interface
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQpr3W-Y ... playnext=1

what the fuck man??!!? I waited two years for an answer!!! took you long enough!!

that's pretty cool. I didn't watch it earlier, didn't know it was a new solution.

sorry mate. i never had the internet until i started posting here.

I'm waiting for the details on this sum'bich.

There are other circuits for using LED's as touch sensors, but this sucker seems a lot faster than most.

Stan_T wrote:I'm waiting for the details on this sum'bich.

There are other circuits for using LED's as touch sensors, but this sucker seems a lot faster than most.

er, that's by Jeff Han.
Jeff han is long gone into the upper stratosphere of selling high priced military software, corporate lockdown-tech

there's no way he will be putting anything more on that site. Big clue

<i>last updated Feb-2006</i>

That's about the date that 'more details soon' Jeff Han turned into 'platinum helicopter made out of investor cash' Jeff Han

EG :
http://www.perceptivepixel.com/

Patents pending